Queen For a Day
by Buretsu
Summary: When a freak accident alters Rika and Jeri, chaos ensues.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Yet. I'm working on that.  
  
"Now let's start getting into some of the more advanced techniques," Rika said, picking up her deck of cards. Jeri, who was sitting across from her, picked her own deck up.  
  
"You think I'll be as good at this as you are someday?" Jeri asked her teacher with a smile. Everybody but Jeri would have been caught totally off guard when Rika returned the smile. Most people called Rika the Ice Queen because that was how she seemed, cold and distant. Few beings really knew the true Rika, and Jeri was the only human who did.  
  
"I don't doubt it, provided you find someone else to teach you after I'm finished," Rika said. "If you think I'm going to give away all of my secrets, you're mistaken."  
  
Jeri started to snicker, and soon both she and Rika were laughing. For all of Rika's outward hardness, Jeri knew that inside she was really a kind person. Jeri envied her unshakable confidence, a quality she lacked. Not that she would let anyone know, but Rika envied Jeri's sensitivity and caring.  
  
The moment was disturbed by a double sound, Jeri and Rika's digivices going off. That could mean only one thing, that another Digimon was bioemerging.  
  
"Looks like this lesson is going to have to be postponed," Jeri sighed.  
  
"Renamon," Rika said, calling for her partner. As always, the vixen digimon appeared in an instant. As thrilling as battle was, sometimes Rika wished that she didn't have to plan her life around digital fields.  
  
"Ready as always," Renamon said. She had just been checking out the scene of battle. "Leomon's already there."  
  
"Why didn't he tell me?" Jeri asked, frowning even though she knew the answer.  
  
"Doing his lone warrior act again no doubt," Rika said, standing up. Despite the fact that Leomon was Jeri's partner, he still preferred to work alone. "Well then, we should join him."  
  
Jeri placed her deck of cards in the box in her pocket. Rika picked up hers and replaced it in the holder behind her hip, except for one card. Whipping out her digivice, she slashed the card through the slot.  
  
"Digimodify! Digivolution Activate!"  
  
With a burst of light, the digivolution process began.  
  
"Renamon digivolve to…" Renamon cried, her body beginning to be surrounded by a shell of energy. Inside, her external layer of data peeled away and began to reformat. As the energy around Renamon hardened, her core reshaped itself, and the reformatted data settled about her new body. The shell burst apart in a flash of flame.  
  
"Kyubimon! Let's go Rika," Kyubimon said as Rika vaulted onto her back.  
  
Rika reached a hand out towards Jeri, saying, "Come on, we'll get there a lot faster this way."  
  
Jeri swallowed hard and took Rika's outstretched hand, using it to climb onto Kyubimon. The fox digimon's powerful legs carried her forward, Rika and Jeri securely on her back.  
  
"Whoo-hoo!" Rika whooped, enjoying the ride as she always did. Jeri, however, clung to Rika's waist, holding on for dear life. It worked somewhat; Rika's strong presence gave Jeri a feeling of comfort. They soon came to the digital field, and Kyubimon skidded to a halt.  
  
Rika jumped down from Kyubimon, a glint in her eye. Jeri climbed down carefully, her knuckles pale white from holding on so hard. Her face was flushed. Pulling out her sunglasses and placing them on her head, Rika stepped into the digital field beside Kyubimon. Jeri pulled out her own glasses, similar to Rika's, and joined them.  
  
Inside, a blue and black digimon was clashing with Leomon, its horn against Leomon's blade. All of a sudden, lightning crackled around the thing's head and went through the sword and Leomon into the ground. Leomon was flung backwards and landed, nursing his electricity burned hands.  
  
"Leomon!" Jeri cried, her digivice analyzing the enemy digimon. "Raidramon, Armored digimon. His special attacks are Blue Thunder and Electric Bite."  
  
"Jeri," Leomon said softly. "You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous."  
  
"Get him, Kyubimon," Rika ordered, sending her partner after Raidramon. Kyubimon ran forward in a bounding charge.  
  
Lightning crackled on Raidramon's horn, and, with a cry of "Blue Thunder!" it arced forward. Kyubimon changed directions in an instant, and the energy whistled harmlessly past her. The blast was harmless, save for the fact that it was headed straight for Rika and Jeri.  
  
Rika was too busy watching Kyubimon sink her teeth into Raidramon's side to fully notice the incoming attack. "That's the way to do it!"  
  
Jeri, however, saw the blast. "Look out!" she screamed, crashing into Rika's side. It wasn't enough to move them out of the way, and the blast struck the two. Their digivices touched for a second, and electricity arced between the two devices. In a brilliant flash of light, Rika and Jeri were thrown apart to land in two separate heaps on the ground.  
  
"Jeri!" Leomon shouted, planting his sword in Raidramon's skull. Leaving it stuck in, he ran over to kneel next to Jeri. Kyubimon finished the beast off with a Dragon Wheel, allowing its data to fade.  
  
Reverting to Renamon, she knelt to check on her partner's limp form. "She's been knocked out, but she should be fine. We should take them home."  
  
"Right," Leomon growled, picking up Jeri in one arm. "I hope she'll be all right."  
  
With a knowing smile, Renamon picked Rika up off the ground. She knew that, just like her, Leomon cared deeply for his partner. She bowed deeply and sprang off towards Rika's house, hoping that both her partner and Jeri were all right.  
  
******  
  
A couple of hours later, Rika's eyes fluttered open, and she looked around. She found herself looking into Leomon's concerned face.  
  
"Leomon?" she said weakly. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Making sure you're all right," Leomon said. "That was a rather nasty looking accident."  
  
All Rika could remember was Jeri crashing into her and a gigantic flash of light.  
  
"Where am I?" she asked, "And where's Renamon?"  
  
Leomon wasn't quite sure where she was going with all this, but then, she had always been a little odd.  
  
"Umm, you're at your house, and I'm assuming Renamon is with Rika at hers."  
  
"Huh? That doesn't make any sense," Rika said, sitting up in bed. Leomon supported her with a hand on her back and helped her sit on the edge.  
  
"Did you hit your head?" Leomon asked, worried about his Tamer's behavior. She had always been a bit strange, but never this bad.  
  
On a hunch, Rika reached over to the bedside table and found what she was looking for. Picking up a mirror, Rika looked into it and was shocked at what she saw. Staring back at her was Jeri's face.  
  
"AAA….!!!!" 


	2. Chapter 2

"….HHH!!!!"  
  
"What? Is there something wrong, Rika?" Renamon asked, rushing to her Tamer's side. That wasn't a normal scream.  
  
"Uhh, just a little, umm, startled, that's it," Jeri stammered. She looked at the mirror again, and she still saw Rika's face staring back at her. She cleared her throat and continued.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm fine," she said, her voice only cracking a little. What's going on here? She thought. Why is Rika's face showing up in the mirror?  
  
"You sure you're all right? That was a pretty nasty looking blast back there," Renamon reiterated. Rika had been acting strangely towards Renamon ever since the Harpymon incident, but never this bad.  
  
Okay, Jeri thought, what would Rika do right now? She had wanted to be more like Rika, but this was ridiculous. What to do, what to do? Oh, goodness, what to do? Wait, if I'm Rika, does that mean that Rika is me?  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have to talk to Jeri," Jeri said, turning to face Renamon.  
  
"I know how much you enjoy spending time with her," Renamon smiled, forcing Jeri to fight to avoid a blush. "But your mother wanted to take you shopping again. She still has the idea she can get you to wear something… pretty."  
  
"Rika!" a voice called from somewhere in the house. "Where are you?"  
  
"And that would be her now," an amused Renamon said. "Good luck," she added with a laugh, fading out of sight.  
  
"I'm in here, uh, Mom," Jeri called hesitantly. This was going to be tricky.  
  
******  
  
"Jeri!" Leomon exclaimed in response to Jeri's scream. "What's the matter?"  
  
Rika cursed under her breath. It was a bad habit, so her mother always told her, and thus she did it often. She had to remind herself, though, that Jeri wasn't like that. "Hmmph," she said, crossing her arms in front of her.  
  
"If you ask me," Leomon said, "you're spending too much time with Rika. You're even starting to act like her."  
  
"Is that a bad thing?" Rika asked, raising an eyebrow. Just a little information, she decided.  
  
"I know that's what you want," Leomon said, causing Rika's other eyebrow to rise, "but this is going a little too far. You're positive you're all right?"  
  
Rika nodded. She was as all right as could be expected under the situation. Without another word, Leomon was gone, out through the window.  
  
"Ok," Rika said, pacing around the room, "What to do now?" She suddenly stopped, remembering something important. "Oh no, that's right, Mom wanted to go shopping with me!"  
  
Rika opened the door and ran down the stairs into the bar/restaurant that was the first floor of Jeri's house. She was just about out the door when Jeri's mother called.  
  
"Jeri!"  
  
Rika kept walking, forgetting that as far as anybody knew, she was Jeri. Jeri's mother called again louder.  
  
"JERI!"  
  
Rika stopped and turned around. This was going to take some getting used to, Rika said to herself. "Yes?" she said in her best impersonation of Jeri's tone of voice.  
  
"I could really use your help in here," Jeri's mother said. The restaurant/bar was packed with people, and Rika sighed again.  
  
"Coming," Rika said, walking back into the house. She just hoped Jeri wouldn't screw things up shopping with her mother.  
  
******  
  
"Oh go on, honey," Rika's mom was saying. "Try it on." She held out a dress towards Jeri, pink and frilly.  
  
"You know I don't like to wear stuff like that," Jeri said, doing her best Rika. She kinda liked the dress, but she knew Rika wouldn't be caught dead wearing something like it. Plus, she didn't feel comfortable trying it on.  
  
"I worry about you, dear," Rika's mom continued, "you dress and act too much like a boy, and you spend too much time with other girls." What if her daughter was a… she couldn't even make herself think the word.  
  
"Can't we just go home?" Jeri huffed, hiding her embarrassment at Rika's mom's comments. She didn't feel right, eavesdropping on Rika's life.  
  
"No," Rika's mom said firmly. "We're not going anywhere until you try that dress on." She crossed her arms and stood there, intent not to budge.  
  
"Mom…" Jeri said, trying to be just as firm.  
  
"Try on this dress, or we'll be living here," Rika's mom told her.  
  
She wasn't going to budge. Shakily, Jeri took the dress and walked towards the changing room. Halfway there, she looked back, and sure enough, Rika's mom was still standing there. With a sigh, Jeri stepped into the changing room and closed the door.  
  
******  
  
Rika wasn't having any better luck. She had absolutely no idea what she was doing in the restaurant, and it showed. She messed up orders, dropped plates, and was getting angrier by the second. Then, of course, it got worse. Who should walk in but Takato?  
  
"Umm, hey Jeri," Takato said nervously. Rika didn't answer, she was both really busy and she forgot that he was talking to her. "Jeri?" Takato said again.  
  
"Oh, what do you want, goggle…" Rika scowled before catching herself. "I mean, hello Takato."  
  
"Are you all right, Jeri?" Takato asked. This was weird even for Jeri.  
  
Why does everyone keep asking me that? Rika asked herself. To Takato, she said, "Oh, I'm fine, just a little busy right now."  
  
"How did lessons with the Digimon Queen go?" Takato joked. "I bet they were pretty tough."  
  
"Oh, yeah, they were tough," Rika said, screwing with Takato's mind. That was one of her favorite activities. "She can be downright mean at times." It was all Rika could do not to burst out laughing. "But, if you'll excuse me, I really have to get back to work."  
  
"Oh, okay. Bye Jeri," Takato said, walking out of the bar, face flushed. Rika decided that her day was looking better already.  
  
******  
  
Finally, Jeri and Rika's mom left the clothes store and headed home. Inside a bag was the pink dress, part of Rika's mother's plan to get her daughter to dress more like a girl. Rika was going to be pretty if she had to replace every stitch of her daughter's clothing.  
  
Jeri managed to find a phone and called her house. Her father answered the phone.  
  
"Hello, Dad," Jeri said before she could catch herself. Mentally she kicked herself.  
  
"I think you have the wrong number," her dad said, about to hang up the phone.  
  
Jeri thought fast. "Sorry, bad joke? Umm, is Jeri there?"  
  
"And you would be?"  
  
"J-… Rika," Jeri stuttered. She still didn't quite have the hang of it. Fortunately, her dad didn't notice.  
  
"Hold on, I'll get her," her dad said, laying down the phone.  
  
Rika was in Jeri's room, reorganizing Jeri's cards, when Jeri's dad got her. She rushed to the phone. "Rika?"  
  
"Jeri?" Jeri responded.  
  
They both talked in unison. "Aww, nuts." 


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay," Rika said. "You're me, and I'm how. How the heck did this happen?"  
  
"I don't know," Jeri told her, "but I hope its over soon. Shopping with your mom was horrible."  
  
"Did you buy anything??" Rika asked frantically. If Jeri had, she'd never hear the end of it from her mother.  
  
"No, but I think your mother bought something anyway," Jeri said, remembering Rika's mom taking that trip 'to the restroom' that took 10 minutes.  
  
"I kinda figured that. When it shows up in my closet tomorrow morning, give it to Renamon. She'll know what to do with it," Rika explained. She knew about her mother's little trick, slowly getting rid of her broken heart shirts and replacing them with dresses. Luckily, Renamon always saw exactly what Rika's mother did with the shirts. And the dresses? They make such lovely bedding. Which reminded her…  
  
"One more thing? If I were you, I'd tell Renamon that you're not feeling all that well tonight," Rika said softly, glad that the distance hid her embarrassed blush.  
  
"Oookay," Jeri said slowly. "Umm, how'd things go with you?"  
  
"Working for your family's terrible, and the pay sucks, but the perks are nice," Rika chuckled, remembering Takato. It was best not to go too far with it though, she thought. There was messing with Takato's head, and then there was screwing up Jeri's life.  
  
"Perks?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"Right. Uhh, if you hear noises outside, it's just a cat," Jeri said. It was her turn to be embarrassed.  
  
"I'm sure it is," Rika said knowingly. "Anyway, tomorrow, Guilmon's cave, 11 A.M."  
  
"Right. Good night Rika."  
  
"Sleep well, Jeri."  
  
******  
  
The night passed fairly uneventfully. Renamon bought the story that Jeri wasn't feeling well, though Jeri could have sworn she looked disappointed. In the morning, Jeri opened the closet and, sure enough, one of Rika's shirts was gone, the pink dress hanging in its place.  
  
"She never learns," Renamon said, appearing inside the room. She pulled the dress off of the hanger and replaced it with a broken heart shirt. "The usual treatment?"  
  
It was a shame to see the dress going to waste. "Actually, why don't you drop it off at Jeri's house? She might like it."  
  
"All right," Renamon said, slowly. Gifts for Jeri now? It wasn't her place to say anything. "Remember to make sure there's some breakfast left for me." With that, she was gone, dress in tow.  
  
It wasn't hard to leave some breakfast behind; Jeri wasn't very hungry. She was nervous about getting back to her own body, if that was possible. She carried the plate over towards the sink and, in a flash, it was gone.  
  
"Thank you," said Renamon's voice inside Jeri's head. Despite the mind switch, the link between Rika and her partner remained with Rika's body.  
  
"Any time?" Jeri thought back. The mental image she got of Renamon smiling told her that the message had gone through. This was just one more thing she would have to get used to.  
  
Breakfast was over quickly enough. Jeri made her way over to the park and Guilmon's cave. Rika wasn't there yet, but Takato was.  
  
"What are you doing here, Rika?" Takato asked. He hadn't expected to see her here.  
  
"Umm, hey Takato," Jeri said, quickly clearing her throat. It wasn't enough to stop the slight tint of red from her cheeks. She hoped Takato wouldn't notice. "As if it's, uhh, any of your business, I'm, err, meeting Jeri her for… card lessons."  
  
Takato in fact did notice, but he tried not to say anything. "Ahh, okay. You're not being too hard on her now?"  
  
"Of course not. Who said I was?"  
  
"Oh, nobody. I gotta run. Ehh, bye Rika," Takato said. Jeri crossed her arms with a hmmph, and Takato turned and walked off towards his house. Did Rika just blush? No, it was probably just his eyes playing tricks on him.  
  
******  
  
Leaning against the outside wall of the cave, Jeri waited for Rika to show up. Just when Jeri started to wonder where she was, the digivice clipped to her belt started to go off. Another wild one. Jeri sighed and ran off in the direction that the device pointed, expecting Leomon to already be there.  
  
Sure enough, Leomon was there, along with his Tamer, Rika. Also there were Henry and Gargomon, taking on a digimon that resembled a massive wooly mammoth. Rika turned to Jeri and cleared her throat. "Where's Renamon?" she asked pointedly.  
  
"Right," Jeri nodded. "Renamon?"  
  
"At your service," the vixen digimon responded, fading into sight. She turned to face the enemy digimon, and her eyes glowed. Jeri took out her digivice and analyzed the beast.  
  
"Uh-oh, its Mammothmon. He's an Ultimate! His Tusk Crusher missiles can flatten an entire city block!"  
  
"Well then," Renamon said, "we better get rid of him quickly. If you'll do the honors…"  
  
"Right!" Jeri and Rika said in unison. Rika winced as she realized her mistake.  
  
"Digimodify! Speed activate!" Henry called out, beating both of them to the card slash. He pretended he didn't notice both girls saying the same thing, but it was a little odd.  
  
His rate of fire boosted by the card, Gargomon unleashed his Gargo Laser attack. A barrage of blasts thudded against Mammothmon's thick hide, doing little damage. The thing trumpeted, and a blast of freezing air blew from its trunk.  
  
"Fist of the Beast King!"  
  
An enormous flaming lion head intercepted the cold air, and the two attacks cancelled each other out. The large bulk that was Leomon landed on the ground in front of Rika.  
  
"Rika?" Renamon asked, and Jeri snapped out of her daze.  
  
"Oh, right," she said, reaching to the holder on her back hip and pulling out a card. She did her best to slash it like Rika.  
  
"Digimodify! Digivolution activate!"  
  
She fumbled the card a little, but it wasn't noticeable. What was noticeable was the fact that Renamon didn't digivolve. Renamon's right arm transformed into a cannon instead.  
  
"Umm, Solar Ray?" Renamon said, firing a burst of energy from the cannon. It connected with the beast's face, blinding it momentarily.  
  
Rika sobbed theatrically and slapped her forehead with a hand. Wrong card. This was making her look bad. She sighed and pulled out one of Jeri's cards.  
  
"Digimodify! Power Charger!"  
  
Leomon pulled back his fist with a look of amazed pride at his Tamer, and started charging up another attack.  
  
"Now it's your turn, Renamon! Attack!" Rika said, taking charge of the fight for the moment. Henry remembered that the last time he had tried something like that, Rika had nearly bitten his head off. And yet, here, nothing.  
  
Renamon, her arm changed back to an arm, hesitated slightly before charging at Mammothmon, fists flying. The flurry of blows slowly drove Mammothmon backwards and Gargomon joined in. "Bunny Pummel!"  
  
One gun arm smacked the side of the elephant digimon's head, and the other caught the beast under the chin. It reared back on its hind legs, and Leomon launched his attack.  
  
"Fist of the Beast King!" sent a massive flaming blast into the thing's head, and it tipped over backwards and fell on its side.  
  
"Digimodify!" Jeri tried again, pulling out another card. "Hyper Speed activate!"  
  
"Digivolution," a female computer voice said, and the process began. Wrong card one more time.  
  
"Renamon digivolve to… Kyubimon!"  
  
"Well, that'll work too," Rika sighed. She had a lot of work if she wanted to undo the damage Jeri was doing. The Digimon Queen suddenly was the Digimon Pauper.  
  
Jeri only shrugged as Kyubimon leapt into battle. Mammothmon was still struggling to its feet when a Dragon Wheel enveloped its head. It still had presence of mind to launch a pair of tusks. One missile slammed into Kyubimon's side and exploded, sending the fox beast crashing into the ground. The other exploded between Gargomon and Leomon, and a cloud of dust and debris obscured them from sight.  
  
"Kyubimon!" Rika cried, at the same time as Jeri cried out for Leomon. As the two partner Digimon got to their feet, they looked strangely at their Tamers. It would have been perfectly normal, had they not been in each other's bodies.  
  
"Umm," Henry began, "We're going to need some more power if we're gonna beat this guy. We need to use the blue cards."  
  
With a gasp, Rika realized one significant problem. Jeri had no idea how to make a Blue Card. This could be trouble. 


	4. Chapter 4

Henry pulled out another card and closed his eyes. He concentrated, on the card, wishing for it to become a Blue Card. Sure enough, it transformed. Opening his eyes, Henry got his digivice ready and slashed the card through it.  
  
"Digimodify! Matrix Digivolution!"  
  
"Gargomon digivolve to…" Gargomon's body began to break up into data and reformed into the cyborg known as "Rapidmon!"  
  
"It's our turn, Rika," Kyubimon said, preparing to digivolve.  
  
"Uhh, right," Jeri said, pulling out another card. She closed her eyes the same as Henry did, holding the card in front of her.  
  
"Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon launched a pair of missiles at the giant Mammothmon and they impacted his side, knocking him over. Swinging his trunk around, Mammothmon launched blast after blast of freezing air at Rapidmon, and it took all of his speed to dodge the attacks. "A little help here would be appreciated!" Rapidmon yelled to Rika.  
  
"Well, Rika? Our friends need us," Kyubimon said, turning her head to look at Rika. What was wrong with her Tamer?  
  
Rika sighed. She'd find a way to explain what she was about to say later. "Concentrate, Rika! Wish for a Blue Card to appear!"  
  
Leomon, watching the two Ultimates fight, turned a wondering eye on his Tamer. How did she know how to get a Blue Card?  
  
Jeri nodded and did as Rika had told her. Her eyes still squeezed shut, the card in her hand transformed into a Blue Card. She breathed a sigh of relief as she slashed it through her digivice.  
  
"That's better! Kyubimon digivolve to… Taomon!"  
  
Mammothmon turned to face this newest threat, readying another pair of Tusk Crusher missiles. He launched them at Taomon, but the mystical Ultimate was ready.  
  
"Thousand Spells!" sent a flurry of red seal papers to intercept the missiles, causing them to explode in midair. "Talisman of Light!"  
  
Pulling a paintbrush out of her sleeve, Taomon sketched a symbol in midair and sent it at Mammothmon. The beastly Ultimate struggled to resist the deletion, but it couldn't resist Rapidmon's "Tri-Beam!"  
  
The triangular blast of energy struck Taomon's symbol full force, and the combined power overwhelmed Mammothmon. In seconds, his great bulk vaporized into so much random data.  
  
"Good job Terriermon," Henry said as Rapidmon reverted to his Rookie form. He watched as Taomon reverted to Renamon. Something was odd; Rika and Jeri were behaving really strangely.  
  
"Umm, Rika?" he asked hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"No, why would you say that?" Jeri asked nervously. They needed to figure this thing out and soon; people were beginning to suspect.  
  
"You weren't your usual super-efficient self just now. Is there something bothering you?"  
  
"I'm… not feeling myself today," Jeri managed to say. It was all she could think of at the moment.  
  
Inwardly, Rika sighed at the horrible cliché. Not feeling herself, indeed. Outwardly, she went to check on Leomon, to make sure he was all right.  
  
"I'm fine," Leomon rumbled, "and it seems you're better than fine. Looks like those lessons with Rika are paying off more than I thought."  
  
"She's got a great teacher," Jeri said, blushing slightly. She meant it, too.  
  
"The best," Rika agreed with a fond smile.  
  
Henry looked between the two, a bemused look on his face. Something was up, that much he was sure of. "Come on Terriermon, we need to go."  
  
"Aww, I wanted to see if they were gonna…" Terriermon started to protest, but Henry cut him off.  
  
"Terriermon," he said firmly. "Let's go."  
  
With a sigh, the little dog-bunny ran off after Henry, leaving the girls and their partners behind. The confused look on his face was mirrored in the faces of Leomon and Renamon. This was turning into one freaky day.  
  
******  
  
Leomon, embarrassed at his praise for his Tamer, left without saying much else. Renamon glanced back and forth, looking first at Rika and then at Jeri, and back again.  
  
"If you're sure you're all right…" Renamon began.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I'm just tired, that's all," Jeri said. She hoped the explanation was enough for Renamon.  
  
"Okay then," Renamon said, leaping into a tree and bounding away. Rika breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Renamon leave.  
  
"Well, that didn't go as badly as it could have," Rika said, trying to put on a comforting smile. It didn't help.  
  
"I'm sorry, Rika," Jeri said, shaking her head. "I made you look terrible out there."  
  
"Hey, don't worry about it!" Rika said, slipping a consoling arm around Jeri's shoulders. Jeri looked up and smiled at her teacher and friend. "Even Digimon Queens have bad days every now and then," Rika chuckled.  
  
Jeri sniffed. "Thanks Rika." She gave Rika's hand a squeeze as Rika smiled back.  
  
"You know what?" Rika said, "I never really thanked you for trying to save me from Raidramon's attack back there." With that, she leaned in and planted a kiss on the side of Jeri's mouth, causing both of them to redden. Rika recovered first. "And if you ever tell another living soul that I just did that, you're gonna regret it."  
  
Jeri started to chuckle, and Rika joined her. Soon, they were both laughing out loud.  
  
"Now come on," Rika continued, embarrassedly taking her arm back. "Let's see if we can't figure out how to get back to our own bodies."  
  
******  
  
Henry felt that something was wrong; he just didn't know what it was yet. He walked on in silence; Terriermon perched on his head as usual. He found Takato in the park, hanging around the slides.  
  
"Hey Takato, you missed a very… interesting battle," Henry said.  
  
"Yeah, Jeri and Rika were about to…" Terriermon said excitedly.  
  
"Be quiet, Terriermon!" Henry said, quickly shushing the nosy Digimon.  
  
"A battle. Really? Hmmm," was all Takato said. He had other things on his mind.  
  
"Normally hearing about a battle perks you up. What's going on around here?"  
  
"Well," Takato said slowly, "I think a girl we know likes me."  
  
Henry chuckled. "I've been trying to tell you that for a while now." He had suspected for a while that Jeri had something of a crush on him.  
  
"You see, that's the problem. It's not her," Takato said, nervously shuffling his feet. This wasn't easy to say.  
  
"You're not talking about my sister now, are you?" Henry asked as one eyebrow rose. That was the only other girl it could possibly be, unless…  
  
"No, of course not!" That would have been easier, Takato thought wryly. "I… I think Rika likes me." 


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh really? Why do I doubt that?" Henry asked, not really believing his friend. Rika likes Takato? Naaah. Not possible.  
  
"I wouldn't think so either, but, well," Takato said, "she kind of, uhh, blushed at me."  
  
"Rika blushed? Now I know you're kidding me," Henry laughed. Although, she had been acting very weird lately… "Rika doesn't exactly strike me as the blushing type, you know?"  
  
"Do you think you could talk to her?" Takato asked Henry. If I talked to her about it and it turned out I'm wrong, Takato thought, I'd never hear the end of it. "Just don't say I asked you to?"  
  
Henry sighed. "All right, but you owe me a big one."  
  
With that, he turned and walked off, muttering something under his breath. It wasn't quiet enough, because Takato heard that Henry had said something.  
  
"What was that, Henry?" he called after his friend.  
  
"Nothing," Henry insisted, but Terriermon obliged Takato.  
  
"He said, 'What would Jeri think?'"  
  
"Terriermon!" Henry scolded. Noisy little…  
  
"This is just not my day," Takato said to himself as Henry and Terriermon walked away, arguing.  
  
'You think you got it bad?' Renamon thought to herself with a laugh as she watched from a nearby tree. 'Try being her partner.' Walking along some power lines, she decided to follow Henry. Should be a very interesting conversation.  
  
******  
  
Rika and Jeri were sitting on the ground in the park, digimon cards spread between them as disguise. What they were actually doing was trying to figure out exactly what had happened and what to do about it.  
  
"Do you suppose that run in with Raidramon had something to do with it?" Jeri suggested. "I think that was the last thing that happened before we switched."  
  
"All I can remember," Rika said, "is seeing the blast coming out of the corner of my eye, and you yelling and crashing into me."  
  
"After that," Jeri continued, "all I can remember is waking up in your house and in your body. Renamon was quite worried."  
  
"So was Leomon, though he wouldn't admit it," Rika told her. "And people say I'm stubborn," she muttered.  
  
"You trying to tell me you're not?" Jeri giggled. Rika shot her a dirty look, but her smirk lessened the blow. "I do remember that right after I woke up, my left arm was feeling worse than the rest of me."  
  
"Same thing with my right arm," Rika said. "That was the hand I was using to hold my…"  
  
"Digivice," Jeri finished. "That's got to be the key."  
  
"Don't look now," Rika said, "but here comes Henry."  
  
As Henry neared the two, Jeri started talking louder. "So you see, that's how that is done." Rika nodded, going along with the ruse.  
  
Looks normal enough, Henry thought. "Rika? Could I talk to you real quick? In private?"  
  
"Okay," Jeri said, gathering up her cards. "I guess that's it for today's lesson."  
  
Rika nodded, breathing a mock sigh of relief. She gathered her cards up too as Henry and Jeri talked. "Oh, Terriermon?"  
  
"Yes, Jeri?" Terriermon asked.  
  
"What are they talking about?" Rika asked sweetly. Terriermon was always a good source of information if you knew how to ask him.  
  
"Don't tell anybody, but…"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Rika likes Takato," Terriermon whispered in Jeri's ear.  
  
The heck I do! Rika thought. What had Jeri done now?  
  
******  
  
"What did you want to talk about?" Jeri asked, putting on a scowl.  
  
"I wanted to talk to you about Takato," Henry said, watching carefully for Jeri's reaction. To her credit, she was able to maintain her poker face.  
  
"What about that goggle head?" Jeri said, imitating Rika's imperious attitude.  
  
"Well," Henry said nervously, "he seems to think you kind of, well, like him."  
  
Mentally, Jeri winced, remembering back when she had talked to Takato in the park. When in doubt, deny, deny, and deny.  
  
"I don't know what could have given him that impression," Jeri sniffed. Keep calm, she told herself. Just do what Rika would do.  
  
"Well, he said something about a blush?"  
  
"His eyes must have been playing tricks on him. I like Takato? Not a chance," Jeri told Henry. Hopefully, that would convince him once and for all.  
  
Up in a tree, Renamon's shoulders shook in silent laughter. Now that was the Rika that she knew. Well, she thought, it's a start. She was still laughing when she disappeared from the tree.  
  
"I guess I'll go tell him he was wrong," Henry said. "Thanks anyway, Rika."  
  
"Hmmph."  
  
"C'mon Terriermon, let's go," Henry called to his partner. Terriermon came running up and they walked off together. Rika was still hanging around to talk to Jeri.  
  
"So," she said, "Do I like Takato?"  
  
Jeri blushed and shook her head. "Umm, no. I managed to straighten everything out."  
  
"Good," Rika nodded. "He's, uhh, not exactly my type."  
  
"Oh? And what is your type?" Jeri asked slyly.  
  
"Never mind that," Rika huffed.  
  
Jeri snickered, and Rika shook her head.  
  
"That's enough of that. Now, our digivices…"  
  
******  
  
"So," Terriermon asked from on top of Henry's head. "Should I start the chant?"  
  
"Rika denied everything, and I think I believe her," Henry said, deep in thought. "Still, some very strange things have been going on with Rika and Jeri both."  
  
"I see. Rika likes Jeri, Rika likes Jeri…" Terriermon said in a singsong voice.  
  
"Oh, gee, thanks Terriermon," Henry sighed. "Now I've got that image in my head."  
  
"Glad to help," Terriermon said, noticing the sarcasm but ignoring it. "Any time. Umm, where are we going?"  
  
"To spy on them," Henry said. "I need to know what's going on."  
  
"Not like that!" he added quickly, silencing Terriermon's comment before the digimon got it out. "Something's strange, and I don't think it has anything to do with them liking each other. If they even do."  
  
"Sounds like fun," Terriermon laughed. "I'll even keep quiet."  
  
"That'll be a nice change of pace," Henry grumbled. Finding a nice tree, Henry positioned himself with it between him and Rika. He caught their conversation.  
  
"So, Rika," Rika was saying. "You got any ideas?"  
  
"I don't know," Jeri said. "We both need to undo what we accidentally did as each other."  
  
Henry's eyebrows rose. What were they talking about?  
  
"I guess the question is," Rika said, "What are we going to do now?"  
  
"Well," Henry said, stepping out from behind the tree, "You could start by telling me exactly what's going on."  
  
Henry watched as Jeri and Rika looked at each other, and he heard Jeri curse under her breath. 


	6. Chapter 6

As soon as Henry stepped out from the tree, Rika knew that they had been found out. She cursed softly, and Jeri sighed.  
  
"Suppose we oughtta tell him?" Jeri asked. There didn't seem to be any choice.  
  
"I guess," Rika reluctantly agreed. "Well, it all started when..."  
  
She proceeded to tell Henry the bare basics, about the Raidramon, the lightning, and waking up switched. There wasn't any need to tell him any more than that.  
  
"And that's basically where we are now," Rika wrapped up. "We've been pretty good at keeping this a secret, and I for one would like to keep it that way." Jeri nodded ascension.  
  
"Secret, right. You got that, Terriermon?" Henry asked, poking his noisy partner.  
  
"Oh all right," Terriermon said. "I just have one question. How did you two go to the bathroom?"  
  
"That's it," Rika growled. "The bunny dies."  
  
"Aack!" Terriermon yelped as he tried to move to a safer spot behind Henry's head.  
  
"Terriermon! I'm ashamed of you!' Henry said, trying not to laugh. "Wow, I don't think I'd be able to get used to hearing something like that coming from Jeri's mouth."  
  
"Exactly," Jeri said. "That's why we could really use your help."  
  
"Rika asking for help," Henry said, shaking his head. "Man, if I didn't know you two were switched, I'd be worried."  
  
"Let's just get a couple things straight. First, we neither need nor want your help. But, as long as you know about all this, we might as well get some use out of it," Rika said sternly. Next to her Jeri was having trouble controlling a fit of laughter. Rika shot her a death look.  
  
"Second, one more inappropriate comment from Terriermon, and I sic Leomon on him," Rika continued.  
  
"Rika!" Jeri admonished. "Don't think for a second she wouldn't either."  
  
"Now that that's all settled," Henry said, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "I have an idea. Why don't we head for my house?"  
  
Jeri shrugged and followed behind Henry as he headed for his house. Rika sighed and brought up the rear.  
  
******  
  
"So," Henry asked. "Let me ask you this. What were you both thinking at the moment when the lightning struck you?"  
  
"Well," Rika admitted, "I was kinda wishing I could be a bit more caring like Jeri." Jeri's eyes widened.  
  
"And I was wishing I had Rika's confidence," Jeri put in. Rika smirked. "Does it matter?"  
  
"Well, you see," Henry said, "I've been trying to figure out why all of us were chosen to become Tamers for a while now, and I came to a conclusion. Unlike the children on the show, we weren't chosen by any sort of higher power."  
  
"Oookay, that's interesting and all," Rika said, arms crossed in front of her. "But what does that have to do with our current situation?"  
  
"I'm getting to that," Henry said, as Terriermon mockingly stifled a yawn. "It wasn't some higher power that chose us. We chose ourselves."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Just like during our battle with Vikaralamon when I told Rika that it didn't matter which card we chose. Our digivices, they merely focus our own willpower, and use it to alter reality. They did it to link us to our partners, to power our cards, to create the blue cards, and allow digivolving."  
  
"So, basically what you're saying is," Rika summarized, "Our wishes and desires are granted by our digivices? So, why don't more of our wishes become real? How come, say, when I wish goggle-head's brain would explode, nothing happens?"  
  
"All selfishness and violence aside, it seems to only grant our wishes when they're strong enough."  
  
"I didn't wish to be caring like Jeri that strongly," Rika countered.  
  
"Yes, but that time there was a tremendous external power boosting the effects."  
  
"The lightning," Jeri realized.  
  
"Exactly. The energy in the attack supercharged your digivices, allowing them to grant your strongest wish at the time."  
  
"But that means," Rika started.  
  
"That in order to reverse the effect, we're going to have to be zapped once again," Jeri finished.  
  
"Well, yes, but it will be a much more focused blast, directed straight at your digivices."  
  
"If that's the only option," Rika sighed. "I guess we don't have a choice."  
  
Jeri nodded. "Let's do this."  
  
"Terriermon, you're up."  
  
"Right Henry," the little dog-rabbit said, hopping to his feet.  
  
"Wait," Rika said, "We're using him? Renamon's a much better shot."  
  
"Would you like to explain why exactly she'd be trying to zap you?"  
  
"Good point."  
  
Henry pulled out a pair of cards and readied his digivice. "Now, touch your digivices together and wish really hard to go back to your normal bodies." Rika and Jeri did so, eyes closed in concentration.  
  
"Digimodify! Targeting activate!" Henry slashed the first card, and Terriermon's aim got better.  
  
"Digimodify! Raidramon's Blue Thunder!"  
  
"Blue Thunder!" Terriermon called out, firing a blast of electricity from his mouth. His aim was true, and the blast struck the joined digivices. Lightning arced from digivice to digivice, and Rika and Jeri were both knocked back by the force.  
  
"Did that work?" Henry asked, concerned.  
  
Jeri opened her eyes. "What do you think?" she said imperiously.  
  
"I'm sure he tried his best," Rika added, softly.  
  
"Guess not," Henry sighed as the two girls started to laugh. "What's so funny?"  
  
Rika and Jeri looked at each other and smiled. "Gotcha."  
  
******  
  
"Ahh, it feels so good to be back in my own body," Jeri said happily. As fun as it had been being Rika for a day, she was glad to be back in her usual green dress.  
  
"Yeah, no kidding," Rika agreed. "The first thing I'm gonna do is take nice long bath."  
  
"That sounds like an excellent idea to me," Jeri smiled.  
  
"At each of our own houses," Rika added with a glare at Terriermon. "Renamon?"  
  
The fox digimon appeared out of thin air as usual. "Yes?"  
  
"Just checking," Rika laughed. Henry, Terriermon and Jeri joined her.  
  
"Did I miss something?" Renamon asked, confused.  
  
"Only everything. Forget it, let's just go home," Rika told her partner.  
  
"By the way," Renamon told Rika with a grin, "I gave Jeri that dress like you asked."  
  
Rika glared back at Jeri, who nervously chuckled.  
  
As all three ladies walked away, Terriermon called after them. "Hey! You never answered my question!"  
  
As Henry lightly cuffed Terriermon, a pair of responses called back in unison. "With my eyes closed!" 


End file.
